Southern’s Knowledge Exchange—an online institutional repository that includes scholarly work by students and faculty members—passed the milestone of 1 million downloads this school year. Provided by McKee Library as a free service since 2013, Knowledge Exchange houses more than 5,000 documents, which have been accessed by people in 226 different countries. For Southern students, it is a useful resource for sharing their academic work with a broad audience.

“Utilizing Knowledge Exchange is a valuable experience for students who want to be published or get into graduate programs,” said Jessica Spears, research services librarian and administrator of the repository. “Through this platform, content created here on campus gets used all over the world, which creates incredible opportunities for students and faculty.” 

In order to participate, students must have a professor certify that their work is of high caliber and can be published. One of the top downloads on the site is a paper written by a student in 2009 titled “The Impact of Media Exposure on Self-Esteem and Body Satisfaction in Men and Women,” which has garnered nearly 70,000 downloads. 

In addition to academic works, the site houses historical documents, images, and digital content for Southern. To view and download documents, visit southern.edu/knowledgeexchange. As Spears said, “No matter what you are studying, or where your interests lie, Knowledge Exchange is a wonderful resource.”